


Choice

by Trizzas



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-28 22:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6347461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trizzas/pseuds/Trizzas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kanaya Maryam is born, and the Mother makes her choice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choice

Hissing filled the small cavern as the bigger, dark indigo blood grub pounced on the smaller, gold blooded grub, ripping into its smaller, weaker grub body. As cold-bloods tended to be, they were aggressive and showed their true nature only moments after birth.

The onlookers did as they did, looking on as the gold blood squealed, whined, and whimpered as it began to bleed, slowly becoming nothing more than a stain on the wet, cavern floor. It was finally silenced by a bite to the throat, delivered by the indigo, who then began to consume the other grub. Yes, cannibalism was apparent in their species. The jars and jars of grubsauce in the cities only highlighted that, and who were the Jade Bloods to stop a stronger, worthy, high blood grub from getting necessary protein from its weaker companion? 

That was the way things were in their cruel world.

In the cavern lay many, many eggs, slowly dispelling its contents, which happened to be the grubs. The Mother lay on her side, eyes half-closed and horns broken. It was a bad omen when the Mother Grub's horns broke, and many suspected that her life was slowly drawing to an end (but no one would dare think on it too much.) Most of the Jade Bloods in the cavern had been birthed by the Mother Grub, and she had been there longer than the eldest matriarch in their caste. It was also a bad omen for the Mother Grub to die. In old texts, the books banned by their Fuchsia Empress, there would be times when the Mother Grub dies and upon cutting her open to extract the matriorb, they would find that there is none, which means that their race will come to an end. However, there is no proof and many agree that it is a myth and that their species will remain. Then again, no one likes to think about their own extinction, so you could say that the trolls were only denying the inevitable. 

Grubs began to tumble out of their eggs, turning around to eat the shell and remainder of their yolk before the highbloods began to pounce on their younger companions, the weak lowbloods. Those who were smart quickly ate their egg remains and crawled off to darker, cooler parts of the cavern to avoid their murderous enemies. The Jade Bloods were simply not allowed to interfere, but let it be known that it broke their hearts to see the younger, defenseless ones pounced on so soon after their hatching. The Mother Grub watched, letting out soft moans and slowly being cleaned by her Jade Blood attendants. She always cared, but like the Jade Bloods, it was her duty to watch. And watch. And watch. 

It was part of their duties to make sure that the Mother Grub was cared for to the best of their abilities. After she gathered her slurry, what she didn't take was mopped up and discarded, deemed useless. After she birthed, she was to be cleaned and prepared to take on a whole new pregnancy. The Mother Grub had a big job ahead of her, filling herself up with her children's slurry to birth more. In this one's particular lifetime, she had surely birthed more than a thousand times.

She let out a low moan, thrusting her broken horns into the air and shaking off her attendants. They quickly backed off. Though those horns were broken, they were still fully capable of causing damage. In her younger days, the Mother Grub was known to thrust them in distress during her tantrums, poking holes in more than a few Jade Bloods. Those who were hit were often suspected to die, the injuries too great to allow the body to reanimate. To allow the Jade Blood to become the feared and fantasized Rainbow Drinker. Their body was dragged out of the caverns and tossed into the desert, where it would burn in the sun or be eaten by some beast that fancied a meal.

Oh, the world was cruel.

It was not long before the Mother Grub let out a loud moan, and extracted a dozen more eggs. And then she died.

No one had expected that, of course. By law, trolls were not allowed to wish or think about the death of the Empress or the Mother Grub. In fact, the Mother Grub was above the Empress in many ways, and to wish her death was to wish your's. After delivering her last few eggs, her massive head dropped and her entire body gave a shudder. Only then did her Jade Blood attendants realize that her body was unusually thin, and that her wings were folded around her body as opposed to the grand way they often hung out. When she did not move again, her Jade Blood attendants quickly rushed to get the matriarch of their caste.

The matriarch took one look at the Mother Grub and wept. It was rare to have a Mother Grub as a lusus, and Panama was one of those rare ones, before she had taken her lusus back to the caverns and dedicated herself to her blood's work. She would have continued to cry, much to the disgust of her superiors, had it not been for the action needed to take place while the Mother Grub's body was still warm.  The revving of a chainsaw filled the cavern as Panama's weapon cut through the Mother Grub's abdomen. The grubs in the cavern huddled with each other, no longer concerned with eating one another and now filled with fear at the gruesome sight in front of them. Every troll knew that the death of a Mother Grub was serious business, that it should not be taken lightly. Not a cheep, peep, squeal, or whimper was released from any grub while the matriorb was collected. Though they were too young to entirely understand what they were seeing, they all knew that they had just witnessed something that would shake the troll population. 

As eggs tended to be, it would not hatch for at least a sweep as long as it was kept in a good condition. A sweep may not have sounded long to you and I, but the troll species was a violent species. For all the Jade Bloods knew, a war could break out and decimate the population. And there would be no Mother Grub to replace the ones lost, should the matriorb hatch.

But the wait would pay off, as their gracious, beloved Mother Grub rewarded them with two. It was no unheard of, but it was certainly unusual. One was kept with Panama, for it was only right she should be able to keep a part of her lusus's legacy. The other was given to the attendants, watched over by dozens at all hours, their faint glows casting shadows on the walls and over the egg.

The sweep went on, and the Jade Bloods looked on as a fuchsia blood was released from the Mother Grub's last egg, whisked away by drones and a violet seadweller ambassador of the Empress. There were no thank you's, no congratulations rewarded to the Jade Blood's for their service. In fact, many suspected that the heiress would die too soon to even meet her challenger. The only thing they got was the condolences for the loss of the Mother Grub, whose brooding spot was still vacant. Panama watched over her orb with immense care, while the attendants often forgot about the second. It was rare for two orbs to be released at the same time, which meant that it was hard to remember that it was there.

By the time several perigees had gone by, the caverns were empty of grubs, which was a sight. The floors and ceilings were still wet, and the brooding cavern of the Mother Grub still smelled of her. Stalactites had been allowed to form on the ceiling, though it was a pain to anyone with rather huge horns. They counted off the sunrises and sunsets, wondering when the orbs would crack and a new Mother Grub would be allowed to climb out. They had no reason to be worried, but at the same time, they did. Their species had many many of them on the surface, but they were an enemy to their own kind. It was quite possible that thousands of trolls had died in the absence of the Mother Grub. 

When the orbs cracked, they quickly rushed to the brooding cavern to see what would climb out. They would be the first few faces the new Mother Grubs would see, sisters in a technical sense. The Empress had been long informed of the twin Mother Grubs, and had showed indifference. 

Panama's egg released a grub first, the white worm crawling into the space left over by its predecessor. The spare hatched moments later, joining its sister. The matriarch quickly ran about, ready to send a message to the Empress about the hatching. No doubt the aristocracy would celebrate. More trolls to cull! 

It took some more sweeps, and a huge decrease in lowblood population, before the twin grubs were ready to be breed. The spare was ready, willing to take in buckets and buckets of troll slurry and have her children. Panama's Mother Grub was not so willing. Upon trying to make her do so, they lost another Jade Blood to her horns, one hooked and one a stinger. They backed off, deciding that she would breed in her own time. 

The buckets came in quickly, the troll race eager to reproduce (and then kill each other.) The spare took it into herself, and was laying eggs in no time. Her first batch included a fuchsia blood, as the previous heiress had been dead for a while. By the time she had had her fifth pregnancy, Panama's Mother Grub was still unwilling.

No, her divine eyes focused on one of the grubs that had survived the trials, barely, and was slowly approaching her. Jade, but in a specific shade that she seemed to like. Before any of the attendants could nab the grub and put her back were she belonged, Panama's Mother Grub scooped the Jade Blood up and made a sound akin to purring. A deep sound in her body, soothing any grub and any troll in her presence. Her sister paid her no mind, continuing to lay. 

You can only imagine everyone's surprise when they caught Panama's Mother Grub slowly following the other grubs and their lusii out of the cavern doors to the outside. By then, they had deemed her the Virgin Mother Grub. Panama had also died, finally reaching the end of her long lifespan. Attempts to stop her were met with near fatal hostility, and they watched her pick up the Jade Blood, who cooed, and reach the outside.

Cool air hit her virgin skin for the first time, and her big eyes blinked once, twice, three times before she remembered what she was doing. All she had ever known was warmth and kindness, and she was intelligent enough to understand that if she left with this grub she liked, she would never receive that again. She crawled out some more, mandibles burying into the sand, and unfurling her wings. A great crowd of Jade Bloods had appeared in the door, having never seen this occur. A Mother Grub who rejected her motherhood? Absurd! 

Yet they watched as her wings spread out to their full form, and she beat them once. Then she appeared to launch off, quickly covering ground faster than any other lusii. It was a sight to be seen, especially for her new charge. She would pick an isolated place, not unlike the caverns she had been born in. Already, her short lifespan was ticking. She would not be there for her grub, her daughter, for long. Yes, she rejected motherhood but not for this young one. If she could speak, she would probably say a lot of things.

_I will call you Kanaya._

_You're going to be special, and you are going to be mine._

_My choice has left me with a young life, one that will not match your's. I feel no remorse, and I would rather not spend my near immortal days in the caverns as the others before me. No, I will watch over you, guide you, and make sure you do not grow into the role of your caste._

_Kanaya, you're going to be something extraordinary._

_Do not let my choice be made in vain._

It wasn't long before drones came, scanned their blood color, and began to build a tower made of material no other troll had. Bright white, and spacious, unlike the caverns. The Virgin Mother Grub settled herself outside, watching her new charge and beating away the undead. It was morning, yet her grub did not burn. Of course, Jade Bloods were the only caste immune to the harsh sunlight of Alternia. Shouldn't they be the divine beings that ruled, with that ability?

The Virgin Mother Grub settled in her spot, and let out something like a sigh. In her mind, her unspoken thoughts came again.

_You are my Space._

_You will save your race._

_My Kanaya, my daughter. Charge of the Virgin Mother Grub, something who should not exist._

She shuddered at the thought of her charge being culled. They would not dare. Virgin or not, she was still above the Empress.

_Kanaya Maryam. You are my Choice._


End file.
